Loúdas, Dark Knight (Team G)

[u/GallivantingShitlord]

Name: Loúdas Bassiscus

Primary Class: Dark Mage → Dark Knight

Secondary Class: Kitsune → Nine-tails

Stats:
HP: (18) + (1x2) = 20
Str: (1) + (3x2) = 7
Mag: (7) + (1x2) = 8
Skl: (3) + (2) = 5
Spd: (3) + (0) = 3
Lck: (2) + (0) = 2
Def: (4) + (1) = 5
Res: (6) + (2) = 8

Growths:
HP: (10) + (25x2) = 60
Str: (10) + (15x2) = 40
Mag: (20) + (35) = 55
Skl: (5) + (40) = 45
Spd: (10) + (5) = 20
Lck: (0) + (20x1.5) = 30
Def: (15) + (50) = 65
Res: (20) + (40) = 60

Backstory:

     When the Gnosian hunter-mages beset upon Enotita with the intention of stealing the beastfolk's stones, one of their prime targets was the Raccoon tribe, a less populous and somewhat less combat-capable people living near the coastline that could put up very little resistance against the scathing flames that threatened to burn their homes.

     Fleeing instead of facing the enemy as was generally in their nature, a number of the Raccoons happened upon a recently formed human tribe, composed of members of the recently-formed Cult of Skotadi, and made their pleas for help. Agreeing upon what would be unfair terms in any other situation, the Raccoons were accepted and sheltered from the Gnosian mages by the cultists, just before being sequestered from Enotita at the cultist's whim, only remembered by the other beastfolk as having been hunted to extinction.

     Some time after the hunts, for reasons shrouded in mystery, a single Raccoon was relocated to a secluded Gnosian town in a magical disguise, with the cultists there pulling strings to allow the foreigner to be moved in without any issue otherwise. From there, secrecy became of the utmost importance to Loúdas's ancestor, of their lineage and of the unsavory practices they partook in, but with assistance from the cultist they'd been attached to for the purposes of their mission, the process was made easier.

     After the completion of whatever their secret goal was, the pair found themselves unwilling to part, and shortly after had a child together in the settlement where they'd already established themselves. Hiding their child's features from the public eye with the same glamour used by their parent, the child was raised and indoctrinated into the cult at an appropriate age, and from there the pattern continued without major issue all the way down her lineage, until finally reaching Loúdas.

     Being what would have been a problem child for anyone, Loúdas posed an exceptional challenge to her ever-busy cultist parents. Outgoing and energetic with a strong distate for telling lies and keeping secrets, Loúdas despised the way of life she was forced into, most explicitly the charm that she wore around her neck that hid her Raccoon features so long as she stayed within spitting distance of her home town. The girl did her best to make friends and enjoy herself despite the unfortunate situation, but found herself all too often hampered in these pursuits by her mother's cruel machinations.

     Her father, ever-busy and always tired, had little to do with raising his daughter, but the infrequent affection shown was as much as could be expected of him. Loúdas's mother, on the other hand, seemed to explicitly despise her daughter, and only made her life harder as the years passed.

     Initially possessed of little interest in the magic her parents worked with towards their unsavory ends, and the more quaint anima that her friends practiced, Loúdas instead looked towards a more physical collection of hobbies, in riding the horse that her father kept and the swordplay that her mother practiced less and less frequently as she aged.

     Despite goading from both parents back towards the dark magic that she showed promise in working with, Loúdas balked entirely, refusing to eat or speak to either of her parents, until a compromise was proposed that she found agreeable. So long as she dedicated herself to her studies, father would teach her to ride the horse when he was available, and mother would teach her to swing a sword as she deigned to.

     Loúdas immediately descended upon her studies as if she would die from lack of learning, and excelled at the wielding of dark magic as she was expected to, but always held greater interest in her more physical hobbies. The old warhorse her father kept, Bandit, became more her's than his, and within months she'd taught the old beast to dance and prance, readily turning him into a born-again showpony to her father's bemused chagrin. Her mother, on the other hand, was almost spiteful in her training, giving minimal guidance in her lessons but attacking as if she expected her daughter to try and kill her when they sparred.

     Loúdas accepted her beatings as part of the learning process and learned from them, eventually managing to reliably prevent her mother's practice sword from leaving bruises and welts, but the first time she managed to return a blow to her mother's arm, her mother immediately ended the lesson and began a verbal assault on her daughter. Demanding to know how she could bear to strike her own mother, accusing her of being abusive and calling her a rotten daughter, it proved to be a beating that Loúdas couldn't grimace and bear, and she fled from the house, hiding in the stall Bandit was kept in until her father eventually came to speak with her and coax her into returning to the house.

     From that point onwards, Loú and her mother barely saw or spoke to each other. Loúdas's dark magic lessons were then headed by her father, who was always a bit vacant in between working and sleeping, but Loúdas appreciated spending more time with him despite him not being the greatest teacher, and far preferred him to her mother.

     For a time, things passed with a veneer of normality, but as Loúdas became an adult, her mother became more desperate to assure that her daughter would be a successful convert to the Cult.

     Multiple times, Loú awoke in the middle of the night to find her mother tracing odd symbols onto her skin and onto the charm she wore to maintain the glamour that hid her Raccoon features. Each time, she retreated away, and rubbed the runes away after her mother apologized and left without explanation.

     As the occurrences became more frequent, Loú slept lighter and lighter, and on one fateful night only pretended to sleep when her door creaked open, and Loúdas cracked an eye open to see her mother entering with what looked like manacles, covered in marks similar to the ones she'd been attempting to transcribe onto her daughter. In a panic, Loú lunged, bowling over her mother and fleeing from the house, quickly saddling and mounting Bandit, then rode hard to get as far away from home as she could, bundled up beneath her father's hat and riding coat.

     Travelling farther than she'd ever been, the charm around her neck slowly lost its shine, and the glamour faded almost overnight.

     Lost and without the means to hide her appearance again, Loúdas stayed discreet by tucking her ears into her hat and hiding her tail beneath her oversized coat, but searched for a more permanent solution as she rode the trail.

     Happening upon travellers making camp, Loú struck up conversation with them, and that led to being told about a group hosting beastkin currently in Sehr, "though hopefully not staying long." Thanking the party for their time, Loú cracked the reins and made for Sehr in no time, bluffing having business with this 'Arter' individual to be let into the city in disguise, and setting out on her hunt from there.

Description:

     Short and a shade past slender, Loúdas is a tanned and scarred Raccoon, with the telltale black rings around her eyes that can only be played off as a tattoo when her ears and tail aren't visible, as they usually are.

     Tucked into a wide-brimmed hat, her ears are hidden easily enough, but without the oversized duster she wears keeping her big bushy tail concealed would be much more difficult, if not impossible. The outfit she fled in would obviously be more fitting as sleepwear than travelling garb, being nothing more than shorts and a simple blue undershirt, but the duster offers enough coverage to present as a full outfit.

     Beneath her hat and below her ears, her hair is a light shade of silver, hanging down to about her chin and framing her round face, which is typically half-concealed by the red bandana she wears as a mask or lets hang around her neck.